Undermount sink installation: does it NEED a template?

woj101

We've recently bought an undermount kitchen sink to be fitted to a new solid wood worktop.

I bought the sink online here.

The sink was supplied without a template, and having phoned around no template is available for it. However, the website I bought it from provides this document, featuring 'Inset Hole' dimensions.

The carpenter who was going to do the work is insisting that he needs a template to do it.

The suppliers of the sink say that a proper kitchen fitter would be quite at home working with just the dimensions.

Any thoughts on this? If you've looked at the .pdf you'll see that the inset hole diagram has straight-edge corners rather than rounded - is this normal? Presumably a rounded corner can still be achieved...

Thank you. Been without a kitchen worktop and sink for almost a month and it's just one obstacle after another...

djheath

I think those measurements are very clear and easy to follow. The carpenter could also draw around the sink on a piece of card and then make a template to follow.

I personally dont see what the problem is. It should be very easy and you have everything available to fit it.

Give your carpenter a kick up the bum and tell him to get a move on!:D

mkaibear

I find it odd that they won't do it from the diagram, but I suspect that your best bet may be to draw up a plan yourself (or pay a technical drawer to do it). Almost certainly they're worried about messing up the worktop and having to replace it - if you provide a plan and they follow the plan then any errors are your fault.

I'm not sure why you're worried about the "straight-edge corners rather than rounded" - surely you won't see the corner of the inset hole anyway, it will be covered by the sink?

...although the sink does appear to have straight-edge corners on the picture you've put, so I'm also not sure why you're expecting a rounded corner on the sink.

woj101

mkaibear wrote: »

I'm not sure why you're worried about the "straight-edge corners rather than rounded" - surely you won't see the corner of the inset hole anyway, it will be covered by the sink?

...although the sink does appear to have straight-edge corners on the picture you've put, so I'm also not sure why you're expecting a rounded corner on the sink.

It is an undermount sink - those straight edges are supposed to be hidden beneath the worktop.

The diagram gives dimensions that would appear to leave some of the lip of the sink showing, whereas ideally the sink and worktop edge will be sitting flush with one another.

Alan_M_2

woj101 wrote: »

Any thoughts on this? If you've looked at the .pdf you'll see that the inset hole diagram has straight-edge corners rather than rounded - is this normal? Presumably a rounded corner can still be achieved...

No this is not normal, the cut out would usually follow the bowl shape with curves rather than the straight cut overlaps of the steel pressing.

The supplier should supply a template.

The PDF document you linked to also states the dimensions are for an Inset sink - not undermount. It looks to me as though the dimensions are of the basin pressing itself and not for the hole cut out for it to be undermounted.

Similar things like this occur with granite and quartz, generally when a customer uses an existing sink or buys a cheapy without correct templates.

If its known manufacturer like Franke - you can simply download the templates from on line or ask Franke to send you one through the post.

The answer is the fabricator makes a dummy template in MDF, then uses this template to create the actual hole in the finished material.

The cost for this is usually £50 - £100.

tuggy12

I agree with Alan M, that cut out is for an inset sink and not an undermount sink.

That cut out is too big for the undermount sink and will leave a visible ledge of 8-10 mm all round the basins.

woj101

tuggy12 wrote: »

I agree with Alan M, that cut out is for an inset sink and not an undermount sink.

That cut out is too big for the undermount sink and will leave a visible ledge of 8-10 mm all round the basins.

That's what I was worried about, but I'm not really sure where to go from here.

It's clear from a bit more googling that this sink is distributed under multiple names but I'm not sure I'll ever identify the actual manufacturer, so a genuine template is looking unlikely. Any ideas?

Alan_M_2

Ask your carpenter to make a dummy template in MDF using the sink itself - there will be a cost of course - but it will be cheaper than messing up the worktop.

Once he's made the MDF template that you're happy with this can then be used to accurately cut the finished piece.

tuggy12

My first port of call would be TLC, to advise them that the cut out shown on their website is completely wrong.

I would then ask them for the correct diagram, or for the name of their supplier so you can get the correct information direct.

I've never bought from TLC but they seem to have a good reputation, so it will be good to see what level of support they give.

woj101

I've had someone else come round this evening (I used mybuilder.com for the first time) and the guy said he would make his own template and get the job done, two guys, £250. I'll have to wait another week but he's local and he says he can do it, so I'm very much hoping this'll be the end of it.

If I had the will I would probably have gone back to TLC/Baumatic to find out who the manufacturer is, but that doesn't guarantee me any more joy and I'm getting multiple people telling me it's a straight-forward job of making your own template with mdf etc.

tuggy12

Well it sounds like they know what they're talking about.

Good luck and let's know how the job goes.